Features

It's not hard to fiigure out what you’re getting with Miller Lowlifes. It’s right there in the name. A little rough around the edges, a little off-center, but always real. They’re the blue-collar kids turned white-collar adults still shouting about the same frustrations you carry with you. Angry, funny, poignant, and welcoming, Miller Lowlifes are a lot of things at the same time. Their new album Pinch Hitters, out now on A.D.D. Records, reflects that perfectly. Fans of Dillinger Four, Banner Pilot and the likes will agree wholeheartedly. We caught up with the self-proclaimed Dive Bar of Bands to talk about the new album and where it’s taking them next.

PRT: You’ve all previously played in bands like Articles, Awkward Age, Big Sad, Madison Bloodbath, and Too Many Daves. What’s the biggest thing you get out of being in Miller Lowlifes compared to your past projects?

Matt: Fun! This is easily the most fun I've had playing, and the loosest band that I've ever done.

Richie: I agree with Matt on this one. This band is a blast to play in. We all hang out outside of the band because we have similar interests, not just in music. 

Joe: Definitely low stress and lots of fun. Plus, I finally get to be in a band with Mario. He is kinda cool.

Mario: I agree with Joe on this one. 

PRT: How do you balance playing in a band with the other demands of life like work, relationships, sanity?

Matt: All of those other things take priority, sans sanity, but the band time is a chance to relax with your best friends.

Mario: As Matt said, those things take priority. This is the break from all of that. 

Richie: It's always been a delicate balance for me. I've worked two jobs for the last 11 years, had relationships fall apart and begin, and I am kind of always on the go. Being in a band is something that is always there too. If you really want to do something you can make the time for it, it just takes some focus. 

Joe: Put show dates on the calendar before your significant other fills it with “Honey-do” shit. Show up to practices somewhat on time and somewhat sober. Try your best to entertain the people who came to see you and lock in with your bandmates so you can sleep at night without any regrets cuz you fucked up a song.

PRT: You refer to yourselves as “the dive bar of bands.” What exactly does that mean to you?

Matt: My friend Patrick Graney called us that and it killed me. So we're keeping it.

Richie: It’s funny. Lots of bands can claim it, but do they have the bandname to back it up?

Joe: When I think of dive bars it reminds me of cheap drinks, smoke-filled rooms, great music and good friends. We’d like to be the house band for every dive bar in town. Even country western bars. We do a great cover of “Rawhide” by Frankie Laine. Yep, that pretty much sums us up! 

PRT: Dive bars are known for their regulars. Who do you feel are your regulars?

Richie: I feel like our “regulars” are just people that want to be in a room with their friends and strangers singing songs. I love meeting regulars at bars as well as being one myself. The conversations you can have with people are so fascinating. Hell, I was known as “book guy” at a bar for about a year because I would just read a book and not really talk to anyone. It eventually became a little book club with myself and a few of the bartenders.

Joe: I think we are the regulars. We have all been playing in bands for so long now that when people see us or hear us they’re like “Oh, those guys! This shit is gonna be tight!”.

PRT: You recently released your debut album Pinch Hitters. What’s the story behind that title? Is there a baseball connection, a metaphor, or something else entirely?

Richie: I think the title of the record came from Mario. We were talking about how we got a few of our first shows because other bands dropped. So he said, “we’re the Pinch Hitters of bands”. We also all play in other bands so we’re pinch hitting by just being in this band. I kind of just ran with the baseball theme when we landed on the title. I did a little research of the history of baseball in Tampa and used some old photos of the Tampa Smokers, a minor league team that dates back to the early 1900s. Long story short, I like baseball and ran with the theme for the layout and song titles.

PRT: Are there any songs on the album that for some reason, were harder to write than others? Or the opposite, a song that was written in no time? 

Matt: Would it be ironic that the song 'No Time' might have taken the longest to iron out for the record? And by that I mean, like, five practices instead of four.

Richie: I’d say the 'No Time' took the longest to arrange as a band, but once it clicked it became one of my favorites on the record. 'Today' came together in pretty much one practice, maybe two tops. 

Joe: For me it has to be 'Today'. There is a big drum fill towards the end of the song and I hate playing big fills, so it took me a while to feel comfortable recording it. The song really called for it and I'm stoked on the way it turned out. The opposite of that for me would be “Learn my Worth”, that song for me really came together quickly. It’s my personal fav on the album to play.

PRT: Not to get too philosophical, but why do you think punk rock and self-deprecating lyrics go together so often?

Richie: I don’t think it's limited to just punk rock at all. You can find self-deprecation across all forms of art. Maybe it's human nature to critique oneself and think you can do better? 

Joe: I agree, you can find it in other types of music and art. Just not so much on mainstream radio. Loud punk rock music that's played by real people (not machines), slightly out of tune or too fast and sloppy, add in some self-deprecating lyrics that are honest and relatable. That's human, that's something everyone can find a way to relate to and think, hey they’re talking about me. Punk has always been about rejecting the mainstream pressures that most of society puts on each other to project an image of perfection and boastfulness instead embracing flaws and imperfections. But what do I know, I’m just the drummer. They won’t even give me a microphone.

PRT: As Fest alumni, what’s your most unhinged or surreal memory from playing there - either onstage or off?

Matt: I had an out of body experience watching Jawbreaker. Also seeing Against Me almost destroy Market Street in 2003, raising the bar so damn high for Hot Water Music. The other one was my first time playing Fest 6 with New Bruises. Tony set it up so Side Bar got a lot of the post D4 traffic. There's video out of there of the place being absolutely packed and a beardless Matt looking utterly shocked.

Joe: For me it’s playing with other bands when their drummers can’t make it to Fest. I take a lot of pride in playing well because for some people Fest may be the only time they get to see their favorite bands.(Worthwhile Way from Japan) Personally though, the one I dream about all the time has to be playing the Backyard at Boca on a Sunday night for one of my favorite bands Tiltwheel. We were the last band to play Fest and it was like a huge Fest family reunion. Looking out into the crowd and seeing tons of my friends singing along with Davey and throwing empty beer cans at me was magical. 

Richie: FEST 18 was the first year I played, but I’ve been going since FEST 4. The most surreal experience is just getting invited to the party. I was there for the Shook Ones/Paint It Black apartment show, the Paint It Black Uhaul/generator show outside of the Florida Theater where a dude stage dove off of the truck. There’s so many memories although some of them might be a little fuzzy these days.

Mario: The first time Madison Bloodbath played was a lot of fun. We weren’t expecting much, but the place was packed with people singing along. It was like everyone that liked us from around the world were at the same bar. Our next show back in CA had like 15 people. 

PRT: Speaking of Florida, what’s your favorite “Florida Man” meme? And has anyone in the band had their own Florida Man moment that could’ve made the news?

Joe: I have lived in this beautiful state my entire life and have had way too many “Florida Man” moments from chasing alligators out of my backyard pool, riding out several hurricanes with my house and liver still intact, and a mandatory 12 pack of beers for any roadtrip rule. Thankfully, I'm either too smart or too lucky to never have made the news. However, I would like to say that almost every time you see one of those “Florida Man” memes, it is always someone ding-dong who has moved down to Florida from somewhere up north.

Richie: I have willingly been to Cafe Risque more than once.  

PRT: What are some other Florida-based bands you think people should be listening to right now?

Matt: Debt Neglector, Virginity, Choking on the Revelry, New Aesthetics, Articles, Big Sad, Bad Bad Things. There are so many good young bands that I can't keep up with.

Joe: I agree with Matt those are just a few great bands from just here in the Bay area and Orlando, but we have played with some really fantastic bands(whose names I forget) out of St. Augustine, Pensacola and even down south from Miami. Florida really is a great big melting pot of people and music.

Richie: I’ll add Sawpaw from St. Augustine. Legbiters, You Vandal, and Ill Star from Gainesville. Last Bias from St. Pete just put out a great full length this year called The Sea Hates A Coward that I've been really into. 

Mario: I’d add Chimes to the list.

PRT: If Miller Lowlifes could soundtrack one movie scene — existing or imaginary — what would it be?

Matt: Superman IV.

Mario: We would be the house band in Road House. 

Richie: The restaurant scene in the Godfather where Michael kills Sollozzo and McCluskey

PRT: Now that Pinch Hitters is out, what’s next? Are you already working on new songs, planning tours?

Matt: We have some out of state shows lined up for the end of the year. We're also recording our half of a split LP before Fest.